“Several of the parties have held talks to settle the antitrust case and head off a potentially damaging court
battle,” WSJ reports, noting, however, that not every publisher has helped settlement discussions. As WSJ notes, even settlement would likely have wide-ranging repercussions for Apple and the
publishing industry -- for one, likely leading to cheaper e-books for consumers.

At issue is Apple's move to change the way that publishers charged for e-books as it prepared to introduce its
first iPad in early 2010. In essence, rather than letting publishers set their own price for books, Apple made sure that they didn’t let retailers sell the same book at a lower price. The
Justice Department, therefore, believes that Apple and the publishers acted in concert to raise prices across the industry, WSJ reports.